Unhappy with the rigidity and unfriendly atmosphere she encountered in her young son's school, Kiran Bir Sethi took matters into her own hands and set up The Riverside School in Ahmedabad in 2001, which was designed to shake up attitudes towards early years education, by placing empathy and creativity at the heart of the curriculum. This alternative model focuses on “quality of learning,” “student well being,” and “empathy in education” - which may seem like no-brainer ideals, but it was in fact a game changing move in parts of India and now across the world. Kiran, who is a designer, teacher, education reformer, and social entrepreneur, joins us to share her story of setting up the school, the principles it was founded upon, and how believing in children and telling them they "can" do something, does wonders. 

Image credit: The Riverside School